Monday 27 February, 2023
Embrace Equity in Black Women’s Health: Help Educated Future Generations
by Ruth Aman
With Black History Month coming to an end and Women’s History Month approaching, Invest Ottawa and Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) collaborated for an evening discussion titled: Embrace Equity in Black Women’s Health: Help Educated Future Generations. Held at Bayview Yards on February 27, around eighty women of diverse backgrounds and ages came to partake in this talk.
Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) was established in 1991 and it is known as a leading organization in the area of promoting female leadership and excellence in STEM. As the only Canadian coast-to-coast non-profit organization that assists women in this manner, WCT supports women of all backgrounds and races through a number of initiatives, mentorship programs, and opportunities for advancement. They organized this event with Invest Ottawa, an economic development agency also located at Bayview Yards.
The event was organized not only to celebrate the two important histories of Black women, but also to remember a woman named Kerry-Ann Lindo, who passed away in May of 2022. Lindo was a young Black woman who was full of high hopes and dreams for her future. With many accomplishments and community involvement, Lindo was one who was seen as a bright and shining star to all those around her, especially her family. Lindo was diagnosed with cancer in her first year of university, despite all the challenges, she pushed through and received a Bachelor of Arts in English. This event was held as the launch of a fundraising campaign in her name. This campaign would support younger students in their pursuit of a degree in STEM areas at Carleton University, her alma mater.
The event commenced with the playing of a short slide show of inspirational Black women in the science and medical fields accompanied by Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘Still, I Rise’. Kareen Aristide and Agnes Appiah approached the stage both exclaiming, ‘I too arise’ and they welcomed the audience to repeat after them and ‘rise’ as well. Aristide and Appiah co-hosted and underlined the purpose of this event which was to raise awareness of the need of embracing equity when it comes to Black Women’s health, while also encouraging youth to pursue studies in STEM.
Sonya Shorey was invited to speak as she is one of the leaders behind organizing the event. As Invest Ottawa’s VP of Strategy, she stressed the importance of women going after their dreams. Shorey closed her remarks by reminding her fellow women that there is no greater gift than to inspire generations behind you.
Spoken Word poet Nonso Morah, a student and creative based in Ottawa, was introduced to share a poem she wrote entitled ‘Black Women: The Blueprint’. It was a beautiful poem with compelling one-liners such as ‘black women have always given more to open these doors’ and ‘black women are the bridge between science and magic’. The audience erupted with cheers as she closed her performance.
Next was Diane Watson, the WCT Chair, who gave more context on the memorial being launched. Known as ‘aunty Di’ to Kerry-Ann, she saw firsthand the growth and evolution of the young woman. She spoke of how Lindo represents the fight that Black women go through in their lives. She advocated for better for herself and in the end donated her body to science so that there would be breakthroughs in the cancer study. Though she is now passed, she left a legacy that will birth forth much innovation in the years to come.
Dr. Juliet Daniels joined the event via live stream from Toronto. As a professor and Cancer biologist at McMaster University, she has been named for many achievements, specifically the naming of the ‘Kaiso’ gene which is prevalent in triple-negative breast cancer. She spoke about the high risk that young Black women have when it comes to pre-menopausal breast cancer. Many reasons why young Black Women have a higher cancer mortality rate and are less likely to be diagnosed is because of the lack of agency and racism.
This also aligns with what Dr. Danielle Brown-Shreves, CEO and Founder of Restore Medial Clinic said in her speech. Their remarks both highlighted the need for greater advocacy in women’s health and for women to not be afraid to speak up about what they believe is going on in their bodies.
Closing off the event was Solange Tuyisheme. Apart from her role as the founder and president of Elevate INTL, she is also a Unicef Canada Ambassador committed to advocating for women’s rights and opportunities. As a child who grew up seeing war ravaging her nation, she made a commitment to herself to make the world a better place. She also noticed that all decisions made by those in power that affected women and children did not include women and children. This propelled her to her purpose. She shared a short personal story about how she was diagnosed with a sickness early last year. When referring to the health system she stated that ‘ the health system we trust, we also need to improve and be a part of improving it’. To be better leaders we must take care of ourselves and change the culture.
To donate to Kerry-Ann Lindo’s Memorial Award and for further information on her story check out this link. https://futurefunder.carleton.ca/giving-fund/kerry-ann-lindo-memorial-award/
All photos courtesy of Invest Ottawa and Women in Communications and Technology (WCT)
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Ruth Aman is a Project Officer with Black History Ottawa. She holds a Bachelor of Global and International Studies (Honors) degree, with a specialization in Law and Social Justice from Carleton University.